Columbus phillips



(No Model.)

0. PHILLIPS. RBVERSING LEvEE FOR STEAM ENGINES.

No. 427,268. Patented May 6, 1890.

w Ltd Leases awe/who z Elia M4 i 7% UNITED STATES COLUMBUS PHILLIPS, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR OF PART TO XVILLIAM B. ALEXANDER AND IRA Y. SAGE, OE PLACE.

REVERSING-LEV ER FOR STEAM-ENGINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 427,268, dated May 6, 1890.

Application filed December 24, 1889. Serial No. 334,810. (No model.) i

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, COLUMBUS PHILLIPS, of the city of Birmingham, county of Jefferson, and State of Alabama, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Reversing-Levers for Steam-Engines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to that class of levers which are ordinarily used on locomotives, and is designed to be a cheap, simple, and durable device of its class. Heretofore levers of this class have been wanting in rigidity of the fastening parts, and were more or less liable to slip after they had been adjusted to place. In use on locomotives the motion of the car causes the ordinary lever to rattle excessively, which, besides the annoyance to the engineer, produces a wear upon the parts, which in a short time has to be repaired. By my invention I obtain a broad bearing for the fastening parts and am able to bind the block or tongue close to the lever. By this means I entirely avoid rattling and slipping, and so remove one of the greatest causes of wear.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved lever, and Fig. 2 an end elevation of the same.

Referring to the letters on the drawings, A indicates a lever pivotally secured to a base Bsuch as a floor of a locomotive cab, for instanceby the part D, bolted thereto.

E indicates an arm pivotally secured to the lever and adapted to connect it with the throttle-valve of an engine, for instance, which is not shown in the drawings.

F indicates an ordinary quadrant or sector secured to the standard G at one end, and at the other to the side of the boiler or other part, as usual.

H indicates ordinary nicks in the face of the sector.

I indicates a cuff, which envelops almost entirely three sides of the lever, and to which,

45 by bolts J, is secured a block or tongue K, which moves vertically in the slot L in the lever and is fitted at one end to the nicks H of the sector.

M indicates a bolt, which passes through the lever, the block, and the cufi, and aids in holding the latter in place upon the lever, thereby relieving the strain upon the bolts J N indicates a vertical slot in the lever, within which the bolt M may move. The bolt M may pass through the block and the lever only, if desired, in which case it is securely fixed to the lever, and the block K is provided with a slot for permitting vertical motion; but these matters of detail, like others in my inve'ntion, may be varied at pleasure to suit convenience.

0 indicates, preferably, a spiral spring, seated at its upper end in a recess P in the lever, and at its lower end upon a projection P, extending inwardly from the cuff I. An ordinary guide may be introduced into the spring to hold it in a vertical position, if nec-' essary; but ordinarily it may be dispensed with.

Q indicates an extension of the cuff I, piv- 7o otally connected to the piece R, which is pivotally connected to the lever. The extension Q terminates in a handle. By grasping this and the lever at the same time in the ordinary way the cuff and the block secured thereto are lifted sufficiently to clear the block from the nick into which it fits. The lever may then be moved backward or forward at pleasure, and by releasing the handle of the extension Q, the block will take into the nick 8o opposite to it and hold the lever in place.

\Vhile I have described the handle connected with the cuff as an extension of the cuff, I do not desire to limit myself to that form of construction, for any well-known means of operativelyconnecting the cuff with the top of the lever may be employed without departing from the scope of my invention. By employing the block securely fixed to the cuff, which is bolted to the lever in the man- 0 nor described, I obtain a broad and firm bearing for the block and prevent the wear of the parts. The block and the cuff being detachable from the lever, those parts may be removed without removing the latter, so that a considerable saving of time is by this means effected. .What I claim is 1. The combination, with a lever provided with a slot L, cut entirely through the body [00 of the lever itself, of a block K,1n0vab1y fixed same, and the bolt M for movably securing Io in said slot and extending entirely through it, the parts together, substantially as set forth. and the cuff I, secured to the block K on both In testimony of all which I have hereunto sides for operating the block, substantially as subscribed my name. 5 set forth. 7

2. The combination, With a lever provided COLUMBUS PHILLIPS With a slot L, and block K, fitted therein and Witnesses: coextensive therewith, of the cuff I, secured O. D. UNDERWOOD, t0 the block K and adapted to operate the H. D. LONG. 

